1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a still image pickup device for entering a still image with a high definition and with a wide image angle.
2. Related Background Art
In this field there is already known an arrangement of plural cameras, in which the image outputs from said cameras are mutually connected to obtain an image with a high definition and a wide image angle.
Also there is known a structure for scanning a line sensor of a large number of pixels in one direction for entering the image.
Furthermore there is known a structure for applying the pixel displacement to an area sensor, thereby displacing the pixel by a half pitch in the x and y directions at a high speed, thereby doubling the apparent number of pixels to achieve a high definition.
Such conventional structures have been associated with the following drawbacks.
Firstly, the arrangement employing plural cameras involves functional defects in that significant displacement in image due to parallax is unavoidable in taking the image of a short-distanced object, and in that blind fields are generated due to the spaces between the cameras. Also the necessity for adjustments for positions and sensitivities of the cameras complicates the structure and data processing, thus inevitably increasing the dimension of the apparatus.
Secondly, the structure utilizing the line sensor requires a long signal reading time, because the scanning operation has to be conducted over the size of the image field, and a faster scanning operation is restricted by the sensitivity of the line sensor.
Thirdly, the structure utilizing the pixel displacement method cannot be easily adapted to the image entry of a wide image angle, though it can improve the resolving power.